Frederick Ohlrich to Retire as Clerk/Administrator of Supreme Court

Fritz Ohlrich opens a Supreme Court public outreach session held at UC Hastings School of Law in Sept 2011.

San Francisco—After a 47-year career in the state justice system, Mr. Frederick “Fritz” K. Ohlrich will retire as Clerk/Administrator of the California Supreme Court effective June 29, 2012, it was announced today by Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye.

“I have been privileged and honored to serve the Supreme Court as its 25th Clerk of the Court, serving two of the court’s Chief Justices and nine of its Associate Justices,” said Mr. Ohlrich, who was appointed to his position in January 2000. “I have very much enjoyed working with the court’s incredibly skilled staff of dedicated and hardworking clerks, attorneys, and other professionals. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to serve the Supreme Court of California. I leave offering my most sincere thanks and heartfelt gratitude, and wishing Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye and the entire court the very best in the future.”

Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye stated, “Fritz Ohlrich has served as an esteemed and distinguished Clerk/Administrator of the Supreme Court for the past 12 years and has been an invaluable advisor and friend to me during my tenure as Chief Justice. On behalf of the entire court, I wish him a long and happy retirement.”

“Fritz Ohlrich was of invaluable service to the court during my tenure as Chief Justice,” stated former Chief Justice Ronald M. George, who retired from the court in January 2011. “His exceptional demeanor truly made it a pleasure for the justices and staff to work with him, as it was for the attorneys who received his helpful briefings before making their oral arguments before the court. Fritz also played a vital role in ensuring the success of the special outreach sessions annually held by the California Supreme Court throughout the state.”

As Clerk/Administrator of the Supreme Court, Mr. Ohlrich serves as the court’s executive officer and is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the management of the Office of the Clerk and all non-judicial administrative support activities for the court.

Before his appointment to his current position in 2000, Mr. Ohlrich was court administrator of the Los Angeles Municipal Court (1995-2000), where he also performed the duties of assistant court administrator (1983–1995). He was court administrator for the Newhall Municipal Court (1976–1983), assistant executive officer for the Ventura County Municipal Court (1974–1976), and deputy sheriff and sergeant in the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department (1965–1974).

Mr. Ohlrich is now serving his second term as an advisory member of the Judicial Council of California, the policymaking body of state courts, and is a member of the council’s Executive and Planning Committee and the Appellate Advisory Committee. He also is a member of the council’s Emergency Response and Security Task Force and the Appellate Court Security Committee, and is a former member of the Working Group on Third-Party Use of Court Facilities. He was one of the first court executives to serve on the Governing Board of the Center for Judicial Education and Research.

Mr. Ohlrich has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the California Supreme Court Historical Society for many years. He recently chaired the Performance Measures Committee of the National Conference of Appellate Court Clerks (2008–2009), which advises the National Center for State Courts on proposed appellate court performance measures.

Mr. Ohlrich was honored with a Distinguished Service Award from the National Center for State Courts in 1998 and a Judicial Council Distinguished Service Award in 1999.

He received a degree in judicial administration from California Lutheran University and is a graduate fellow of the National Center for State Courts, Institute for Court Management Program. He has two sons and two grandchildren.